The event attracts the cream of the world’s golfing talent, with prize money offered of around 3.5 million euros. A total of 24 nations, including the hosts, will participate in this prestigious event, which is being played for the very first time in Portugal and only for the second time in Europe, since the event came under the umbrella of the World Golf Championships and underwent a title and format change in the year 2000.
The four competitions that make up the World Championships are the American Express Championship, NEC Invitational, Accenture Match Play Championship and the World Cup. The competitions are played across the six continents, each having more than 60 hours of television coverage in more than 140 countries.
It will be an extremely proud week for Portugal and the event is much anticipated. Madalena Torres, executive vice president for the Portuguese National Tourism Board, comments: “We are delighted that the International Federation of PGA Tours has chosen Portugal to host the 2005 World Golf Championships – Algarve World Cup. Following the success of Euro 2004, Portugal is committed to bringing more world class events to the country. Furthermore, with a proven ability to host large scale events, we will capitalise on our expertise to ensure that the 2005 World Cup in the Algarve is truly memorable.”
Since its inception, the World Cup has visited 14 countries and its winners include some of the greatest names in the history of golf: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Severiano Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.
The World Cup was first played in 1953, but since it became part of the World Championships in 2000, it has been played at the following courses and has had the following winners:
2000 – United States (Tiger Woods/David Duval) – Buenos Aires, Argentina
2001 – South Africa (Ernie Els/Retief Goosen) – Gotemba City, Japan
2002 – Japan (ShigekiMaruyama/Toshi Izawa) – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
2003 – South Africa (Trevor Immelman/Rory Sabbatini) – Kiawah Island, South Carolina, United States
2004 – England (Paul Casey/Luke Donald) – Seville, Spain
The Victoria Clube de Golfe is one of Europe’s finest courses. This Arnold Palmer design features 22 lakes, with an overall area of 12 hectares and is currently the longest layout in Portugal. The course will be a great test for the players.
The schedule for this year’s event, along with the ticket prices are as follows:
World Cup schedule of events:
Monday, November 14: Closed to public
Tuesday, November 15: Practice round
Wednesday, November 16: Practice round
Thursday, November 17: Four-ball format
Friday, November 18: Foursomes format
Saturday, November 19: Four-ball format
Sunday, November 20: Foursomes format
Ticket prices:
Practice days
Tuesday, November 15 – ¤7
Wednesday, November 16 – ¤7
Championship days
Thursday, November 17 – ¤15
Friday, November 18 – ¤15
Saturday, November 19 – ¤15
Sunday, November 20 – ¤15
Championship Club – ¤75 (Season pass for all six days)
Discounts
20 season tickets or more: 15 per cent discount (only Championship Club)
Age policy
16 years old or under: free, accompanied by paying adults
For more information about the tournament and to buy tickets online, visit www.worldgolfchampionships.com. Tickets can also be bought over the phone by calling 00351 289 320 111. For general inquiries, email [email protected] or call 289 320 100/102/103.
